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Zambia - Livingstone and surrounds
Livingstone is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, the main tourism centre for Mosi oa Tunya - " The Smoke That Thunders" lying 10 km (6.2 mi) south on the Zambezi River and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls. Its population was estimated in 2002 at 97,000. In recent years Livingstone has grown substantially particularly with significant growth of the tourism industry. In the town itself there is the Railway Museum, the impressive Livingstone Museum, some terrific craft markets as well as some beautiful buildings. There's also a golf course and is the activity centre to book all you wish to do in and around the falls including white water rafting, bungi jumping, various flights including microlights, helicopter and light plane flights, traditional village visits, elephant back riding etc etc... The list is rather lengthy so we recommend at least 2 nights here.
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders) is a waterfall situated on the Zambezi River. The falls are, by some measures, the largest waterfall in the world, as well as being among the most unusual in form, and having arguably the most diverse and easily seen wildlife of any major waterfall site. The whole volume of the Zambezi River pours through the First Gorge's 110-metre-wide (360 ft) exit for a distance of about 150 metres (500 ft), then enters a zigzagging series of gorges designated by the order in which the river reaches them. Water entering the Second Gorge makes a sharp right turn and has carved out a deep pool there called the Boiling Pot. Reached via a steep footpath from the Zambian side, it is about 150 metres (500 ft) across. Its surface is smooth at low water, but at high water is marked by enormous, slow swirls and heavy boiling turbulence. Objects that are swept over the falls, including the occasional hippo or even human, are frequently found swirling about here or washed up at the north-east end of the Second Gorge.
Archaeological sites around the falls have yielded Homo habilis stone artefacts from 3 million years ago, 50,000-year-old Middle Stone Age tools and Late Stone Age (10,000 and 2,000 years ago) weapons, adornments and digging tools. Iron-using Khoisan hunter-gatherers displaced these Stone Age people and in turn were displaced by Bantu tribes such as the southern Tonga people known as theBatoka/Tokalea, who called the falls Shungu na mutitima. The Matabele, later arrivals, named them aManz' aThunqayo, and the Batswana and Makololo call them Mosi-oa-Tunya. All these names mean essentially "the smoke that thunders".
The first European to see the falls was David Livingstone on 17 November 1855, during his 1852–56 journey from the upper Zambezi to the mouth of the river. The falls were well known to local tribes, and Voortrekker hunters may have known of them, as may the Arabs under a name equivalent to "the end of the world". Europeans were sceptical of their reports, perhaps thinking that the lack of mountains and valleys on the plateau made a large falls unlikely.
The national park at the falls is relatively small — Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is 66 square kilometres (16,309 acres) and yet is home to many species of game including large, migrational herds of elephants, a couple of white rhino, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and plenty of baboons and vervet monkeys creating lots of mischief. There's also hippos and crocs - many species cross the river between Zimbabwe and Zambia. There is also around 35 species of raptors. Livingstone tends to confine most animals to the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. In addition fences put up by lodges in response to crime restrict animal movement as its not uncommon for elephants to wander freely around the lodges and regions particularly close to the River and water sources.
Lower Zambezi National Park
The Lower Zambezi National Park lies on the north bank of the Zambezi River in south eastern Zambia. It gently slopes from the Zambezi Escarpment down to the river, straddling two main woodland savannah ecoregions distinguished by the dominant types of tree, Miombo and Mopane; Southern Miombo woodlands on higher ground in the north, and Zambezian and mopane woodlands on lower slopes in the south. At the edge of the river is floodplain habitat. Most large mammals in the park congregate on the floodplain, including buffalo, elephants, lions, leopards and many antelope, crocodiles, crocs and hippos. There are also numerous species of birds. The national park was declared in 1983.
Kafue National Park
Kafue is Zambia’s oldest park and by far the largest. It was proclaimed in 1950 and is spread over 22 400 square kilometres - the second largest national park in the world and about the size of Wales. Despite the Park’s proximity to both Lusaka and the Copperbelt, it has remained underdeveloped until the most recent years. Despite the depravations of poaching and lack of management, the Park is still a raw and diverse slice of African wilderness with excellent game viewing, birdwatching and fishing opportunities. From the astounding Busanga Plains in the North-western section of the Park to the tree-choked wilderness and the lush dambos of the south., fed by the emerald green Lunga, Lufupa and Kafue Rivers, the park sustains huge herds of a great diversity of wildlife. From the thousands of red lechwe on the Plains, the ubiquitous puku, the stately sable and roan antelopes in the woodland to the diminutive oribi and duiker. The solid-rumped defassa waterbuck, herds of tsessebe, hartebeest, zebra and buffalo make for a full menu of antelope. Large prides of lion, solitary leopards and cheetahs are the prime predators. There is a host of smaller carnivores from the side-striped jackal, civet, genet and various mongoose. Birdwatching - especially on the rivers and the dambos is superb. Notables include the wattled crane, purple crested loerie and Pel’s fishing owl. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded throughout the park.
When to go
Game is best sighted in the dry season from April to October, but the beauty of the park is at its best after the rains in the first half of the year. Many of the parks internal roads are inaccessible between November and April.
South Luangwa National Park
The Luangwa River is the most intact major river system in Africa and is the life blood of the park's 9050km2. The Park hosts a wide variety of wildlife birds and vegetation. The now famous ‘walking safari’ originated in this park and is still one of the finest ways to experience this pristine wilderness first hand. The changing seasons add to the Park’s richness ranging from dry, bare bushveld in the winter to a lush green wonderland in the summer months. There are 60 different animal species and over 400 different bird species. The only notable exception is the rhino, sadly poached to extinction.
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